dedicated to: amber.
prompt: call me maybe and seven minutes in heaven!
rating: very strong T.

summary: Sakura was a nobody. Being at Naruto's party would change that, though. But until a simple party game turned into a sudden realization, Sakura finds herself being the odd one out. And not minding it.

Party Games

Empty beer bottles scattered the floor. There was confetti on the stereos, the tables, and even the chandelier. It was nearly impossible to get through to the other side of the room without stepping on a half-naked couple rolling around in the sea of glass bottles.

Sakura felt vulnerable to everyone around her, tugging her sweatshirt closer to her. It probably wasn't the greatest idea to wear short jean shorts and a tank top, so she folded her arms and sent a message to the drunkards to "back off, I'm closing myself from you all."

That didn't stop the occasional pinch or slap on the ass.

"'It'll be fun,' he said. "No illegal activities at all," he said. Sakura muttered under her breath. She really wanted to leave, but that would hurt her social reputation, and she needed the boost. Being at Naruto's party was the one way she could easily raise it without doing something drastic like running through the senior parking lots naked, as he had done his freshman year to be with the "Akatsuki cool kids."

But, Sakura thought, she was a junior. And a girl. She still had some dignity, even though she was willing to lose that dignity to make out with Kankuro under the bleachers.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted as he strutted towards her, his jeans slipping down his waist and sagging. Obviously a ghetto thing. He also had an arm around two girls—one clinging on to him like there was no end, and the other looking bored and annoyed that he was still holding on to her.

"Hi, Naruto," Sakura said. She felt the two girls look at her and immediately pulled her sweatshirt tighter to her.

"You're not wearing anything sexy, like a tight dress or booty shorts."

"Sorry about that," Sakura said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "It sucks, right?"

"Yeah, it does," Naruto said, not understanding the hint. "Anyway, come join us over here! We're playing a game. I think you'll like it! Just watch out for TenTen. She and Neji are going pretty hard over there on the floor. I think if you just step over her you'll be alright."

"Okay, then," Sakura said, a little traumatized by the thought of seeing her spunky classmate dominate a cold, quiet pretty boy on the ground. She followed Naruto, trying to make sure that she wouldn't trip over the beer bottles or any other couple fornicating on the carpet, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she was safe. Naruto opened a door and led his two "bitches" in first before putting a hand on Sakura's waist and leading her in too. When she felt his hand travel down south she slapped him away.

"Whoa, no need to get snippy!" Naruto said, raising his hands in defense. "Whatever. It's the past. What's done it's done. Let's just sit down now, okay?"

Sakura looked around the room at the other people—some she was familiar with, having been in their classes, but others she had no idea who they were.

"They're all from Konoha High, just to let you know. It's a big school and you're new, so I wouldn't expect you to know everybody like I do."

"Alright," Sakura said. Naruto walked towards the door, telling everyone that he would be back, but he needed to get a "prop" for the "game." The two girls made themselves comfortable on the floor, and soon, everybody started to sit down. Sakura sat on her knees, uncomfortable as it was, in fear of her short shorts riding up and everybody seeing her crotch.

Another boy sat down next to her. He didn't say anything. He just sat down. Didn't even look at her or address her.

But man, was he pretty!

From the side, she could see he had dark eyes—eyes that were kind of lifeless, but piercing at the same time, and a ski-slope nose, along with silky locks…her hand almost had a mind to touch his hair, but she stopped herself at the last second.

"Is there something on my face?" the guy asked, turning to look at her. His profile was even more handsome than a side view, and Sakura felt her heart speed up. How come she'd never seen this guy before?

"No, there's nothing," Sakura said. She half-wanted to lie and touch his cheek to feel how soft his skin would be, but she held onto her wrist tightly.

"Something wrong with your arm?" he asked, motioning towards her grip. She realized what she was doing and loosened it, feeling the blood circulate back into her hand.

"Nothing. It was just a spur of the moment thing." She gave a nervous laugh and waved it off.

"Yo! If you two lovebirds are done yet, we'd like to get started," Naruto said, coming back with an empty beer bottle in his hand. "We're going to play a little something called 'Seven Minutes in Heaven.' Perhaps you've heard of it?" he said to everyone as if none of them knew what the game was.

"I'll explain the rules anyway. So we spin this bottle," Naruto said, holding up the empty beer, "and whoever it lands on has to spend 'seven minutes' with the person that it landed on in the closet. It doesn't matter if you're the same or different sex. Seven minutes. Kissing, making out, or even a quickie is allowed, as long as you finish within seven minutes. Got it?"

"Can you, like, not do anything with that person?" Sakura asked quietly, nervous for the response.

Naruto looked at her as if she were stupid. "I mean, you can, but you'll be labeled as a loser by the rest of us."

"Oh."

"So, are we ready to play?"

The rest of the group cheered their excitement, while Sakura bit her lip. She was unsure if she wanted to do something drastic like this. As a goody-two-shoes who'd only had one serious boyfriend for a little bit and kissed only to his neck, she was really wary of the situation.

Even studying live-action porn didn't really help.

The thing that made her a little less shaky was the fact that the guy next to her didn't seem to show any expression at all. She couldn't tell if he just didn't care or if he didn't want to do it either. But whatever the reason, she felt a little more comforted by him.

"Okay, so let's start! I have three timers, and there are three closets here. We can do up to six people at a time. Condoms are on the dresser over there, in case you guys want to get a little frisky."

Sakura crossed her fingers. She hoped none of the bottles would land on her.

"I'll start." Naruto twisted the bottle and it began to spin fast until it slowed down. It landed on a girl with violet hair and milky eyes. She, too, seemed nervous to be there, and twiddled her fingers a lot.

"Hinata!" Naruto said. "So, are you up for the simple stuff or you want to go all the way?" Naruto said, wiggling his eyebrows.

The girl named Hinata fainted, her face bright red, and someone went over to her to see if she was okay.

"You still want to do her?" someone asked. "You necrophiliac or something?"

"Nah, man, I don't roll that way."

"I mean, do you want to make out with her even if she's like this?"

"Maybe. She's really pretty. Like, really, really pretty."

"She is."

Hinata was soon put in the corner with a blanket found in one of the closets. They figured if she didn't wake up before the end of the night, someone would do CPR or something.

"Anyway, my turn to spin again," Naruto said. He spun the bottle, and it landed on…

"YOSH!" a boy named Lee said, jumping up. "I get to spend seven minutes with the youthful Uzumaki!"

Naruto groaned. "Really? This guy? There was too much friction, let me spin again…"

"Rules are rules, Naruto," the guy next to Sakura said. "Get in." He was smirking, as if he wanted to see Naruto's pain in having to deal with the green boy for a good amount of time.

"Fine. But no touching, you hear? Nothing." Naruto led Lee to the closet and locked it while someone started the timer.

"Who wants to go now?" Sakura asked.

"I'll do it!" one of the boys said, reaching for the bottle. "I hope I get a hot chick." He winked in Sakura's direction and she felt disgusted, feeling her face grimace as she crossed her fingers, hoping she wouldn't be the one.

It started to slow down, and ended up on the bored girl Naruto hauled around with him. Her face immediately brightened up, and the guy raised his eyebrows, congratulating himself for a good spin. He took her hand and led her into the closet before coming back out to take a condom. Someone started the timer.

"So there's one closet left before we have to wait for Naruto and Lee. Hey, did someone hear that?" a girl said when she heard banging noises coming from the first closet where the two boys were stuck.

"Don't touch me! What the hell, Lee? I thought we agreed that we would just stay here for seven minutes! GET YOUR MOUTH AWAY FROM MY NECK."

There was more crashing and yelling along with shouts of youthful joy from Lee, but everyone seemed to shrug it off.

"Hey, you," the girl said. "You spin. You're new, right? I haven't seen you around before. You don't seem like the type of girl to hang out in this kind of party."

"Oh."

"So spin."

"Okay." It was her reputation at stake. Sakura bit her lip. She took the bottle and spun it quickly, looking at who seemed the most decently behaved and the least decent.

The bottle started to slow down.

And it stopped almost when it pointed back at herself, meaning that she wouldn't have to…

"Sasuke!" the girl shouted. "New girl, it's you and Sasuke. You lucky dog. He's a keeper." The girl winked at him but Sasuke didn't seem to respond. He seemed out of it. A little fazed. Sakura wasn't sure if he was glad she got him or if he thought she was too ugly or something.

"So…" Sakura began.

"Get in!" The girl pulled Sakura up while Sasuke pulled himself up. They walked towards the closet. It was large, dark, and…scary.

Thankfully, Sasuke didn't reach for a condom on the way.

Sakura heard the door lock. The timer started. Her breathing sped up and she couldn't see anything.

"I'm not going to do anything, if it comforts you. I'm not that type of guy," he said.

His voice was so attractive. Sakura felt her knees wobble.

"It does," she said shakily. "Thank you."

"Hn."

He wasn't a man of words, that was for sure.

"I'm Sakura," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake, though she couldn't see his hand. It was really dark and the only light coming in was the light underneath the slit of the door.

"Sasuke." He didn't take her hand, or perhaps he might not have known where to shake, so she dropped it. "You must be new. I've never seen you around before."

"I am new."

"Well, then, it's good to meet you. I get dragged to these kinds of things by Naruto."

"I can tell you don't want to be here," Sakura said, trying to crack a joke. She didn't hear a chuckle in response, and she bit her lip again in discomfort.

"Well, I don't. I think it's stupid that I have to spend my Saturday night watching others get drunk and cleaning up after everything."

"Yeah, I guess."

They stood there in the dark silence for a little bit before Sakura spoke. "So, uh, do you have any siblings?"

"What is this, Twenty Questions?"

"Whoa. Just asking. No need to get angry."

"I was just asking a question. But yes, I do have an older brother. His name's Itachi."

"Like…a weasel?"

This earned a chuckle from Sasuke. "Yes."

"That's funny. I don't have any siblings."

"Lucky you. I hate my brother."

"That's not true. I bet you love your brother dearly."

"Now you're going all Dr. Phil on me? What are you, a psychologist?"

"Hey, hey! I was just stating an opinion. Don't get mad. Jeez."

"I'm not getting mad. Chill out. You're nervous." He placed a hand on her shoulder, perfectly, and she felt her body stiffen under his soft touch. He promised he wouldn't do anything bad, but still…

"Take a deep breath. Now exhale. Alright? Relax."

She did as she was told and felt her body become less stiff.

"But really, I still don't think you hate your brother. You might be jealous of him, but you don't hate him."

"I don't think we should discuss this."

"Fine." She let the subject drop. "Then, what's your favorite color?"

"Black."

"That's so dark! And sad, in a way. Black is sort of lifeless. I like pink, because it's so bubbly and cheerful and it reminds me of little girls and innocence."

"Fine, then. Blue."

"Blue's better. It's a very calming color." Sakura felt her mouth talk nerdy things and tried to stop it, but she couldn't help it. Without light, she wasn't sure if she was boring and annoying the hell out of Sasuke or if he didn't mind their small conversation.

"Hn."

"Yeah." A little more silence had passed, and Sakura said, "How much longer do you think it's gonna be?"

"Not long. Maybe four minutes."

Four minutes? Sakura thought. That seems like a lifetime!

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Sakura," he said suddenly, out of the blue. That was the first time he called her by her name, and she loved the way it rolled off his tongue. "Sakura," he repeated.

"Yes?"

"I think," he said. His hand touched the side of her face, and his thumb stroked her cheek. "I think you shouldn't wear too much makeup. You're very pretty as it is. Naturally beautiful."

A compliment like this wasn't usually said by someone whom she had just met around ten minutes ago, but it was flattering either way, especially since the guy who said it was supermodel status.

"Thank you," she said.

He didn't say anything. He kept stroking her cheek. Sakura began to get a little afraid, wondering what this guy would do to her.

"Is your hair…natural?" he asked, his fingers now moving towards her locks. He rubbed it between his thumb and index finger. "It looks good on you."

"Yeah. It's natural."

"It's nice."

"Thank you," she said, a little quieter this time. She stepped back from him, her back against the wall. He didn't move closer, to her relief, but she still felt vulnerable and the seconds seemed to pass by like hours.

"I already told you, I'm not going to do anything rash. Take a deep breath. Now exhale."

For some reason, his words seemed to comfort her rather than scare her, like they usually would have. She inhaled, then exhaled deeply.

"Good."

"Can we just…talk for a little bit?"

"What's there to talk about?"

"Anything. I'll ask you something. Or you can ask me something."

"Fine. I'll ask you something." He paused, struggling to think of a question. "Why did you come to this party anyway? You don't seem like the type of girl to hang out here."

"Because," Sakura began, a little hot-headed that he asked such a thing before she knew that he read right through her. "Because I wanted to be popular. I wanted to increase my reputation. Coming from a good-girl school won't make me fit in with somewhere like this. I don't like what I'm doing, but I feel as if I have to do it. To me, social class means everything."

There was silence. "That's tough."

"Yeah."

"Why do you let others decide your future? Why can't you create something new yourself?" Sasuke asked.

"Because I won't be accepted—"

"Who cares?" His voice started to rise and Sakura moved back, flinching. "I'd rather someone stand out from the others than be exactly like everybody else."

"Why are you yelling at me?" she said, her own voice rising.

"I'm not yelling at you, damnit!" Sakura didn't have anything to say. She was shocked. She heard Sasuke's rapid breathing, and she said, "Take a deep breath. Now exhale." She attempted to touch his arms as comfort, but missed and touched his chest instead. Blushing, she pulled back.

"One minute!" the girl with the timer outside called. "If you want to get something done, do it now!"

Sakura didn't say anything. Sasuke didn't say anything either.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."

"No, I understand where you're going at. But first…do you usually behave like this? I mean, your slightly talkative, secret insecurity kind of behavior?"

"No. I never do. Not even with Naruto."

"Then why—"

"I don't know. Some things don't need to have a reason, I feel."

"Maybe."

There were at least thirty seconds left. They stood there in silence before Sasuke put one arm around Sakura and rested his head on her shoulder.

"You're something, Sakura."

Not sure what to do, she put her hands on his back and gave him a slight hug back (if it was considered a hug in the first place).

"Time's up!"

The closet door opened just as they pulled away from their hug. The girl and everyone else looked at them to see if they had done it without a condom, but they frowned and booed, calling Sasuke a "wimp" and Sakura a "virgin." They ignored it.

"Hey, Naruto," Sakura said. "I think I should go. It's getting late."

"It's only 11! The party hasn't even actually begun yet! The real fun starts at one!"

"Sorry," Sakura shrugged.

Sasuke looked at her. "I'll walk you out." He led her through the mess of beer bottles and couples while she unzipped her sweatshirt, feeling free.

"It was good meeting you tonight, Sasuke. I'm really glad I did," she said as he opened the door for her.

"You too." He gave her a smirk that she knew wasn't meant to be mean, but instead, comforting. "I don't always act like this around people. In fact, I never have."

"Well, aren't I special?" she joked.

"Yeah."

He moved closer to her and put his hand on her cheek again, looking into her eyes. "I feel as if I'm going too fast."

Sakura held her breath. She didn't know what was going to happen as she looked into his dark eyes. She felt his breath on her lips.

"You are," she breathed back. "But for tonight, I think it's okay."

"Yeah."

He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers softly. It was a quick touch, and then they parted. Nonetheless, it gave her shivers and butterflies and all that good stuff.

"Goodnight, Sakura," he said. "Take care."

"You too, Sasuke." Her lips still tingled.

"I'll call you later," he said.

She looked at him funny. "But you don't even have my num—"

He tossed her phone back to her and she caught it, realizing that it was missing from her back pocket, which meant that…

She blushed, and he smirked.

"Expect something tomorrow."

She nodded, then waved him off. She put her fingers to her lips, feeling the warmth and smoothness his were, even if they pecked for just a second.

It didn't matter what the kids at school would say about the virgin Sakura. Really, she was over it.

To put it frankly, she and Sasuke would be the empty water bottles amongst the sea of beer cans.

Slight changes!